Moncaster History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Moncaster family

The surname Moncaster was first found in Cumberland where they trace their lineage back to the place name Muncaster, home of Muncaster Castle, a privately owned castle overlooking the Esk river, near the west-coastal town of Ravenglass in Cumbria which dates back at least 800 years. Baron Muncaster was a title in Ireland and the United Kingdom held by the Pennington family, traditional owners of Muncaster Castle. The placename "Muncaster" contains the Latin word castra, meaning "encampment", or "fort." 1 "This place, formerly called Meol-Castre, derives its name from a castle. The principal tower of the castle is retained in the mansion built by the late Lord Muncaster." 2

Walter de Mulcastr was listed in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219. 3

The Writs of Parliament had the first two entries for the family, both in Cumberland: Robert de Molecastre, 1270; and Walter de Mulecastre, 1287. 4

An early branch of the family was found at Bewaldeth in Cumberland. "[The township] was granted by Alice de Romely to John de Utterfield; after which, the family of Mulcaster had the manor for several descents. In or about the year 1400, Robert de Mulcastre or Mulcaster conveyed it to Robert de Highmore." 2

Today, Muncaster Castle is a privately owned castle overlooking the River Esk, about a mile east of the west-coastal town of Ravenglass in Cumbria

Early History of the Moncaster family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Moncaster research. Another 66 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1530, 1531, 1534, 1543, 1548, 1555 and 1611 are included under the topic Early Moncaster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Moncaster Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Muncaster, Moncaster, Molcaster, Mulcaster and others.

Early Notables of the Moncaster family

Notables of the family at this time include Richard Mulcaster (c.1531-1611), English school headmaster, and early British education theorist. He "is commonly said to have been a native of Carlisle. But his most recent biographer, R. H. Quick, on evidence supplied by one of his descendants, considers his birthplace to have been ‘the old border tower of Brackenhill Castle, on the river Line.’ His father, William Mulcaster, was of an old border family, who traced back their history to the time of William Rufus, and had been...
Another 86 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Moncaster Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Moncaster migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5

Moncaster Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Richard Moncaster, who settled in Barbados in 1635
Richard Moncaster, aged 32, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 6
Mr. Richard Moncaster, (b. 1603), aged 32, British settler travelling aboard the ship "Expedition" arriving in Barbados in 1636 7

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm